Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 sest out the four main types of order a Court
can make when asked to resolve a dispute :
- Residence Order
- Contact Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
Note that once an application for any type of order has been made to a Court,
the Court can make any order it thinks fit. Meanwhile, the Applicant has no
power to withdraw an application unilaterally or with the agreement of the other
party. Only the Court can give permission and the Court may still make an order
of its motion. A judge, for example, facing a battle over residence between two
warring parties, may decide to place the child with someone completely different
or invite Social Services to intervene and start care proceedings.
A court has power to make an order only in respect of a child under 16.